Vehicle head lamp attachment



March 7, 1950 T. J. WRONKOWSKI VEHICLE HEAD LAMP ATTACHMENT Filed Oct.24, 1947 FIG. 1.

IN VEN TOR. THADDEUS J. W/PO/VKOWS/(l,

Wi wam/6W rflmm JTTO/P/VEYJ.

Patented Mar. 7, 1950 UNITED STATES irrilcr.

This invention relates to improvements in vehicle head lamps and moreparticularly to an attachment for use in "fog and other adverse weatherconditions to filter'thelightfrom the head lampsand improve theillumination effected thereby.

It is among the objectsof the invention to'provide an improvedauxiliaryheadlamp lens-shaped and colored to filter the light from avehicle head -lamp, and improved-means for-detachabl-y secur- 1 ing suchan auxiliary lens to a conventional head lamp so that it can be quicklyapplied when needed and quickly and easily removed when its use is nolonger required, which auxiliary lens and attaching means is simple,durable and economical in construction, and may be formed of inexpensivematerials, which lens is light in weight, substantially unbreakable andcan be conveniently stored when not in use, and which attaching meanscan be left permanently in place on a head lamp without causing anyinconvenience or adversely afiecting the appearance of the head lamp.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the following description in con'unction with the accompanyingdrawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of an auxiliary headlamp lens andattaching means therefor, illustrative of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a fragmentary portion of a vehicle headlamp with an auxiliary lens and attaching means illustrative of theinvention applied thereto, a portion being broken away and shown incross-section to better illustrate the construction thereof.

Figure 3 is a detailed cross-section on an enlarged scale of afragmentary portion of the auxiliary lens and attaching meansillustrated in Figure 2, and,

Figure 4 is a top plan view of a fragmentary portion of the auxiliarylens attaching means.

With continued reference to the drawing, the auxiliary lens, generallyindicated at ll], may have a partly spherical shape, as illustrated, sothat it will fit over various types of conventional head lamp lenses andis provided with a substantially flat rear face I l and a tapered beadl2 providing a sharply bevelled annular edge around the base of thelens. The lens may be formed of any suitable material, such as glass,but is preferably formed of a substantially unbreakable material, suchas a suitable synthetic resin plastic, and is suitably colored to filterthe light from a head lamp and produce a light which provides effectiveillumination under adverse weather conditions such as of fog and snow.A-yellow or amber colored lens 01- filter has been :found :to.beparticuvlarlysuitable for thispurpose. .The surface .of

ally-indicated at ISin Figure 2, by a suitable-resilient lens holder,generally indicated at M.

The head lamp has an open ended casing or body IS, the open end of whichis surrounded by a bezel l6 which receives the annular edge portion ofthe conventional head lamp lens ll to secure the lens ll in operativeposition in the head lamps, The holder it comprises an auxiliary bezelit of channel or U-shaped cross-section which is of a size to closelyreceive the edge or bead of the lens ll and to fit within the had lampbezel Hi, the annular auxliary bezel 18 may be interposed between theconventional head lamp lens and the conventional lens supporting bezelwithout requiring any modification tothe head lamp construction. Anumber of spring arms l9 extend outwardly from one edge of the auxiliarybezel l8 and are preferably formed integrally therewith. as particularlyillustrated in Figures 3 and 4. These spring arms are positioned atsubstantially equal annular intervals around the circumference of theauxiliary bezel !8, six such arms being illustrated in Figure 1. Eacharm I9 comprises a substantially straight stem portion 26 projectingoutwardly substantially at right angles from one side of the auxiliarybezel l8 in a position to extend forwardly of the head lamp i3 when thelens holder I4 is mounted in operative position, a recess portion 2| ofV-shaped cross-section at the outer end of the stem 20, and a forwardlyand outwardly inclined tongue 22 extending from the, forward side of therecess por ion 2!.

With this arrangement, when it is desired to mount the auxiliary lensIf! in the holder M the bead 12 of the auxiliary lens is pressed againstthe tongues 22 of the arms IS to force these arms outwardly and admitthe bevelled bead l2 of the auxiliary lens into the recess portions 2!of the arms. The bead of the auxiliary lens is firmly seated in therecess portions of the arms, as clearly illustrated in Figure 3, so thatthe auxiliary lens is firmly attached to operative position covering theconventional head lamp lens ll. The holder H5 is formed of a relativelythin, resilient material so that the arms l9 can be sprung outwardly toreceive the lens and will spring back into holding engagement with thelens as soon as the bead of the lens enters the recess portions of thearms. When it is desired to withdraw the lens, the base portion of theauxiliary lens is engaged by the fingers and the lens is pulledoutwardly, the arms is swinging outwardly to release the auxiliary lens.The auxiliary lens may thus be quickly and easily attached and removedas may be found desirable.

The holder I4 is preferably formed of a corrosion resisting materialand, since the annular bezel portion [8 is concealed within theconventional head light bezel I6 and the projecting arms [9 arerelatively small and extend only a short distance in front of the headlamp, the holder can be left permanently in place without causing anydamage or inconvenience or detracting from the appearance of the headlamps.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by theappended claim rather than by the foregoing description, and all changeswhich come Within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claim aretherefore intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

An auxiliary head lamp lens and lens holder combination comprising anannular auxiliary bezel including a circular portion of channelshapedcross-section for engaging the rim of a conventional head lamp lenswithin the conventional head lamp bezel and a plurality of resilientarms extending forwardly from said circular portion to be disposed aheadof said head la each of said arms comprising a straight stZE portionprojecting from said circular portion, a angular portion directedoutwardly of said circular portion to provide a recess at the outer endof said stem and an outwardly inclined tongue at the side of saidangular portion opposite said stem, and a lens comprising a hollow,partly spherical body having an outwardly-projecting annular bead havinga beveled side to seat in the recesses of said arms.

THADDEUS J'. VVRONKOWSKI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,346,708 Hein July 13, 19201,856,073 Graham- May 3, 1932 2,437,522 Handler Mar. 9, 1948

